Hello, just thought I'd pop my review in from Manchester, it's lengthy but I do like to be thorough to try and keep the memories alive longer
Pre Amble:
Having persuaded my lovely boyfriend to come along to a show that wasn't entirely his cup of tea, I knew I couldn't force him to queue all day so we decided to leave Liverpool for Manchester aiming to get there about 6/6.30ish and keep queuing time to a minimum, given the sub zero temperatures on Saturday, I whole heartedly applaud those who queued for HOURS on end.
Unfortunately we totally picked the wrong time to be going to be to Manchester as hundreds of very happy Man United fans joined the train on their way back from Manchester United, I have literally never seen so many REAL Man U fans, ie those who actually go to the games :lol: And these were the hardcore fans chanting and running rampage through the carriages, when the songs got anti Liverpool in nature, my boyfriend and couple of other proud scousers wisely decided to keep schtum.
Oxford Road Station was again teaming with loud football fans so we quickly started making our way to the venue, turns out it was only a 5-10 min walk and as we got there just before 6.30ish there was a pretty lengthy queue ahead of us. Even with just a hour or so to wait, it was utter torture because it really was FREEZING. There were some brave souls in skimpy skirts and some prepared fans at the front with tin foil body wraps and blankets. By the time doors opened at 7.30pm, I was just as excited to get WARM as I was to see Adam.
I've never been to a venue where they check your ticket so much on the way in too! We were directed up the stairs and told to turn immediately right. No wonder, a quick glimpse to the left and OH MY GOD, THERE HE IS! Just a few feet away meeting and greeting fans who had meet and greet tickets. Naturally people, stared swooned and generally stalled as soon as they clapped eyes on him and security was desperately trying to keep the fans moving.
Eventually tearing my eyes away, we were ushered into what was easily the smallest venue I've ever been to see an artist at. The school hall at my old workplace was bigger than this! We managed to be about 4/5 rows back in the middle but it soon became clear any view in this room was going to be OK. People seemed well up for it and I heard a few people commenting on being surprised at the diversity of the audience, for obvious reasons it was pre dominantly female and young gay males but there were more than a few couples of varying ages, plenty of husbands and boyfriends accompanying their ladies, which was somewhat reassuring for MY boyfriend to see, genuinely believing he might well have been the only straight male in the crowd.
This was Glam Nation and girls and boys alike certainly glammed it up with lashings of eye make up, finger less gloves and interesting outfits complete with flourescent bracelets and head gear, the young support act got things going with a lively upbeat set and people started getting into a party mood, as party anthems from the likes of Pink, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Scissor Sisters boomed out the sound system, the atmosphere ramped up further with girls singing and dancing along like they were at a club night, by the time, the definite anthem 'I've Got a Feeling' came on, we knew that tonight certainly was going to be a very good night.
GIG TIME
As technicians hurried about the stage, readying equipment, the excitement in the crowd was reaching fever pitch with some beginning chants for Adam to appear, the minutes ticked by as record after record played and as people were getting down to Michael Jackson's 'Beat It', the lights suddenly went down and the screams went up, Adam's entrance was now imminent. As the band and dancers filtered on to the stage, by the time Adam was illuminated in the impressive stage lighting, the screams in Manchester Academy were deafening as he treated us to the opening lyrics of Voodoo, the excitement was palpable, for many the first glimpse of a long admired artist, flashbulbs were going off everywhere and then the show just exploded as Adam quickly segued into For Your Entertainment, the whole crowd just came alive at this point as Adam strutted around the stage, and what a sexy show! Adam sure knows how to work a crowd, and as the laser lights flash and the dancers grind, we know we are in for a hell of a show. The songs come thick and fast and the crowd know every word 'To Down The Rabbit Hole'.
It's very clear that everyone who is there is almost with no exceptions absolutely head over heels for Mr Lambert, even my boyfriend who is as far from a fan as possible is somewhat MESMERIZED and not just by the sexy female dancers :lol: Adam just OOZES sex appeal and he demands your attention, you just absolutely cannot take your eyes off him. A true showman and that's without even mentioning the sensational vocals. From where I am about half way back it sounds flawless. Adam chats a little and then it is straight back into the show, of all his American Idol performances, I must confess his 'Ring of Fire' wasn't my favourite but it just sounds so sensuous and sexy, Adam gives the song a whole new twist, and it's quite delicious.
Fever is a real crowd pleaser, I LOVED this song on first listen to the album and the Lady Gaga written number is a massive favourite with many, again the song is sung along to with gusto particularly the gay couple next to me who delight in some dirty dancing themselves that might even make Adam blush! Everyone is having such fun, there's a lot of dancing and gyrating, Fever is an incredibly sexy song isn't it? Love it Love it Love it! And Adam's loving it too, he is WORKING that stage like a pro, it feels like it should be some massive stage show and shouldn't work on a stage that is barely big enough to stage a school nativity but somehow it does, the lasers make for an incredible atmosphere.
Sleepwalker again has people singing along, some fist punching, the guy along from me is singing with such passion, with eyes only for Adam, that a single tear streaks down his perfectly made up face, it might possibly be the best moment of his life, as far as he's concerned it's just him Adam, it's quite beautiful and rare to see such passion for an artist displayed so vividly, his emotions are matched all around me, everyone truly knows all the words, make no mistake you can feel the love in this room for Mr Lambert. Some have waited so long to see him, and for some their dedication knows no bound as the South African ladies to my right can testify.
Whataya Want From Me is my absolute favourite it's just a bloody good song and I LOVE the acoustic version we get, Adam sings it absolutely beautifully, just gorgeous. I even catch my boyfriend singing along by the second chorus, but stops when I clock him, ha busted!
There is absolutely no doubt about the stand out moment of the night, from the opening bars to the final epic note, Soaked is an absolute masterpiece of a song and the performance Adam gives in Manchester more than does it justice and some. Adam's voice at times is haunting as he gives it his absolute all, all around people are stunned into silence, just content to listen to the beautiful vocals, you could hear a pin drop. It is absolutely stunning and the applause that follows is, long and loud and fully deserved.Actually spine tingling and I realise I actually have a tear or two streaking my face this time, for our friend in the crowd, he is fully overcome with emotion. An outstanding moment in an incredible evening.
We continue with the more stripped back sound with Aftermath which is a perfect follow up to Soaked, before picking up the pace again with the punchy 'Sure Fire Winners' Adam is in his pomp again as he struts around and the dancers cavort, he seems completely overwhelmed with the fans passion and shouts out cheekily that there's a lot of hot men in the room, which naturally caused a great many screams, and waving, I must concur with Adam's assessment here too, there was a lot of hotness in that room. He mentions his great many female fans and acknowledges he wouldn't be here without them, and then shouts out to all the straight guys in the room, for having their shit together and being secure enough with themselves to come to such a show.
I've said it many times here in my review but the word to sum it all up has to be sexy! Adam oozes sex appeal with every pore and this is never better demonstrated than with Strut. He sings about 'wanting to see you strut' and there's plenty of men and women strutting their sexy stuff as Adam and the gorgeous dancers do likewise, he invites us all to dance and out comes the cane, and oh my, who knew dancing with a cane could be so sexy and in a pop world filled with artists who can't combine performance with great singing, Adam ably demonstrates how to do both as he WORKS that stage from side to side and cavorts with dancers, never letting the vocals slip. Said it before and I'll say it again. Showman. Strut he certainly does.
Time is rapidly running by, and it's with overwhelming sadness I realise Mr Lambert will be leaving us soon but not before delivering a show stopping finale, Music Again is finely appreciated before If I Had You has everybody up and dancing not before Adam gives a lovely little speech about romance, asking who's being in love and saying how you would know what it felt like. I hold onto my boyfriend just a bit tighter. It's here Adam makes sure his incredible band get the credit they deserve, taking the time to introduce each component separately, the dancers follow suit and the crowd recognises everyone's effort as they take their bow following an exhilarating If I Had You, Adam is grinning from ear to ear and there is a deafening crescendo as he leaves the stage. The crowd want more, screaming for one final encore and when Adam re emerges he performs that final show stopping number a cover of T Rex's '20th Century Boy'. Glam Nation indeed. It's the climax to an exhilarating evening and we leave having seen one heck of a show, back out in the freezing Manchester air, I take a call from my friend lamenting the generally poor performances she has just seen on X Factor and it's that that makes me realise what an honour and privilege it has been to see a truly PHENOMENAL talent show find with the X Factor in spades in such an intimate setting. As she bemoans the joke that is Wagner and the OTT praise heaped on the very mediocre, I feel incredibly fortunate to have witnessed who I believe to be a genuine superstar. In some ways it's truly a shame that such a spectacular show is on such a small scale, it would be truly sensational on a bigger stage. It was ironically the least I've paid for gig tickets in a long time for this show but I would happily have paid more. Adam Lambert's Glam Nation tour is truly worth every penny.
Such a long post but I always like to be thorough, it helps me to keep my memories alive for as long as possible, there's always negatives and unfortunately it was the drunken idiots this time that very nearly spoilt the evening. We started the gig in the middle a few rows back but ended up much further back, so much so that towards the end we got accused of pushing in front of someone because we wasn't there before! But yes from her perspective we did move but only to escape the monster drunk who could barely stand on her own two feet, after being swayed into and nearly knocked over a few times, the lady who complained realised it wasn't our fault at all and apologised, there's always someone who gets completely blotto at gigs and ruins it for people, by all means have a drink and have fun but this woman couldn't even stand, it was dangerous for her and for those around her to remain there, finally the people around them saw sense and took her out but her constant stumbling into me and thus me falling into others nearly ruined the evening. As if that wasn't enough someone was kicked out during Soaked of all songs, and as they wrestled with him to drag out, I got a hefty kick on the shin, trying to move out of the way, nice. Fortunately these incidents did not spoil the night but it's moments like these that remind me why I HATE standing gigs!
If I could have one teeny miniscule complaint about the show it's that Mad World and Whole Lotta Love weren't featured, which I was a tad disappointed about but I guess a girl couldn't have everything.
Post-Adam blues lol
:sleep: Though, not sure what's worse - jet lag or coming back home to freezing cold weather and snow, especially after having had such lovely weather in Vegas! 
(I'm so jealous 
Words cannot explain how much the magical spell of an artist called Adam Lambert overwhelmed me emotionally and spiritually. He took me to another place from the time he took to the stage until he left it.
